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Abstract

TO THE EDITOR: In their recent article in The Annals, Rahman et al
concluded that after cardiac valve replacement, patients are more sensitive
to warfarin and should receive a lower dose during the initial phase
of treatment. In that study, all patients received 5 mg of warfarin for the
first 2 days following surgery. A regimen using 2.5 mg of warfarin for
the first 2 days after surgery in such patients has been suggested; this
regimen has been shown to cause a reduced incidence of elevated international
normalized ratio (INR) during initiation. Rahman et al. noted
that "during initiation of oral anticoagulation following heart valve replacement,
patients have a tendency to exceed the upper limit of the targeted
INR range despite regular monitoring," and reported that 25% of
their patients had an INR higher than 4 during initiation.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Bereznicki, LRE and Jackson, SL
Journal or Publication Title:	The Annals of Pharamcotherapy
Publisher:	Harvey Whitney Books Company
ISSN:	1060-0280
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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